Our Beasts Within
by ItachisMainGirl
Summary: After the departure of Gin Ichimaru the Head Captain calls on retired captain Tsukiko Takenouchi to take back her old position, but with ghosts of her past haunting her, how will she manage it? Ironically enough, she meets the one person exactly like her to help get her through this rough patch along with a few other friends, new and old. M for future lemon!
1. Chapter 1

It was her first day back to work since being reinstated as the captain of squad three, and she was overwhelmed by her day's schedule. First thing in the morning she had her first captain's meeting, which no one looked forward to. After that she would get reacquainted with her old office before finally meeting the new squad three. As she was on her way to face the new captains she ran into her good friend of many years, and captain of squad four, Retsu Unohana. "Well good morning Captain Takenouchi" she greeted with a soft smile. "What's with the formalities, Retsu? You know I can't stand them." "Pardon my good manners then, Tsukiko. How does it feel to be one of us again?" "It's weird, you know? I mean everything's different, I don't have any of my old squad, not to mention I need to talk to the old man about rebuilding it." "You were a great captain before you left, I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem letting you do as you wish with your squad."

As the two captains reached their destination Retsu walked through the doors while Tsukiko stopped outside the door to prepare herself for the ridicule that was soon to come. With one last deep breath she followed her friend through the door. As she entered she noticed that she was the last of the captains to arrive. "How nice of you to finally join us, Tsukiko. For those of you who are unaware of our guest, I introduce to you the new captain of squad three, Captain Tsukiko Takenouchi." After the head captain introduced her she quickly found her place across from her friend. While ignoring what the old man had to say, she looked around to other captains. In their faces she saw friends of old mixed with new, confused ones. Among these faces she received a smile from another old friend, Captain Kyoraku, and another from Captain Ukitake. As she smiled back at him she couldn't help but wonder if things between them would go back to the way they were before she left. Before she made her great escape from the Soul Society, Tsukiko and Jushiro Ukitake had been dating for a few years.

As Tsukiko was lost in her thoughts the meeting ended and Jushiro came over to her. "Hello Tsukiko, it's been quite a while. It's nice to have you back. Would you like to get a drink or dinner or something later?" "As nice as that sounds, I've got a full day ahead of me." Just as Jushiro was about to continue, the head captain interrupted. "It's good to see you're readjusting well, Captain Takenouchi. I have considered your proposition and we will discuss it later this week." "Yes sir, thank you." The head captain merely nodded and walked out of the room."If you've got things to do then perhaps I could at least walk you back to your barracks?" offered Jushiro. "Yeah, that sounds nice" replied Tsukiko.

The two walked in something of an awkward silence. The two captains were both lost in thought, wondering if things could be the same after being apart for over one hundred years. Tsukiko was about to speak when someone came up to her. "Hey you, you're the new captain, right?" "That I am. From your haori you're obviously a captain yourself. Who are you?" "I'm the captain of squad eleven, Kenpachi Zaraki. I wanna fight you." "Are you sure about that? I wouldn't another captain to get hurt so badly for such an unnecessary reason." "That's some big talk for a woman. You sure you can back it up?" "I can and I will, some other time." Tsukiko promised as she walked past him, placing her hand on his shoulder and letting out a subtle spiritual pressure from only her fingertips. She left the captain dumbfounded as she and Jushiro continued on their way back to her barracks.

They finally arrived and stopped before the door. "Well this is me" "Maybe we could catch up some other time soon. Let me know, okay?" Jushiro leaned closer, his warm breath in her ear."I missed you" he whispered before kissing her on the cheek. He turned to leave while waving at the new captain who was just standing there, holding her cheek. 'Did he really just do that? ' She pondered on it for a few minutes before walking through the door, only to be greeted by her new lieutenant. "Hello Captain! I am your lieutenant, Izuru Kira. It's my pleasure to work under you" he greeted with a bow. "It's nice to meet you Izuru. I'm you're new captain, Tsukiko Takenouchi. So what is there for me to do around here today?" "Actually Captain, I've taken it upon myself to get today's work done. This way we've got all afternoon so that I can show you around." "That's very sweet of you Izuru, but I believe I can find my way around." "Oh, okay, if you insist. In that case, the squad has prepared a big welcome dinner for you tonight. It should be ready around five." "Thank you Izuru, I'll be there."

After Izuru left, the new captain got bored fast. She decided to roam around the barracks and see how much they had changed. To her pleasant surprise most things remained unchanged. Seeing this, she had to investigate her favorite napping corner. As she arrived, everything was as it was when she left over a hundred years ago. The trees were filled with sakura blossoms, the perfect shade for a nap. As she sat down beneath the most shaded tree sleep overcame her. Hours later she was awoken by two young male soul reapers. "Uh, miss? What are you doing sleeping out here?" "Huh? What time is it?" "It's about 4:30. Now I do insist ma'am, what are you doing sleeping out here?" "Damn I'm gonna be late! I'll see you guys later!" With that the captain rushed off to the dining hall where Izuru said there would be a dinner in her honor.

Tsukiko arrived at her destination with only a few seconds to spare, attracting much attention when she accidentally slammed the door open. Looking rather embarrassed she casually walked up to the captain's seat. "Sorry about the noise everyone" She took her seat as Izuru, who was seated to her right, stood. "If I could have everyone's attention please, I'd like to introduce our new captain, Tsukiko Takenouchi." The new captain continued to look embarrassed as everyone stared at her. As soon as Izuru returned to his seat dinner was served. Gossip filled the air about the new captain, mostly from the men. She heard comments such as "Seriously, a female captain?" and "I'd do her" or her personal favorite "What do you think she had to do to become a captain?" As Tsukiko ate she looked around the room, taking in all the new faces. One thing she noticed was how few girls were in there, and most sat in a small group in the corner of the room. 'Now this just won't do.' She thought as she got up to personally introduce herself to them, which only earned her more stares and gossip from the men.

"Hello there. I'm Captain Takenouchi it's nice to meet you all." Tsukiko said with a smile while sitting in an empty seat on the end. They all looked at her awestruck. None of them could believe that the new captain was actually reaching out to them, or that she was so beautiful and obviously strong. "It's an honor to have you acknowledging us captain. I'm seventh seat Saya Izumi, and these are my friends, eleventh seat Mai Otonashi and Emmiko Takaishi." "Well it's nice to know that the few girls in this squad are strong at least." "That we are captain" spoke Mai, finally breaking her silence. The girls talked while finishing their dinner. Tsukiko could tell that she was going to like them. While they sat awaiting dessert the captain noticed a very familiar straw hat peaking in the door. "Please excuse me ladies, it was very nice talking to you all. I'll see you soon." She walked outside the door and sure enough, there was none other than Shunsui Kyoraku waiting for her. "Feel like a drink?" "Well, since you're buying" "You never cease to cheat me out of my money."

"It's good to have you back Tsukiko." "It's good to be back." The two captains shared in small talk while enjoying their sake. "Anything good happen while I was gone?" "Not a thing." "I see. Things sure have changed, people I mean. What happened to him?" "That's a long story for a different day. You know, Jushiro's missed you. It seems like he can't go a month without talking about you." "What should I do about him Shunsui? It's been over a hundred years since we were together, people change. I've changed." "Just talk to him Tsuki. And please do it soon. I don't want to be dragged into the middle of this again." Tsukiko and Shunsui had always been drinking partners, and occasionally sex partners. When he had told her for the first time that Jushiro liked her she didn't know what to say. She kept freaking out, asking for his opinion multiple times on what to do about it while he had Jushiro in his other ear constantly asking his friend what the female said about him. It put the man in a very difficult place. It's true that the man was his oldest and dearest friend, but the woman would always hold a special place in his heart as a sort of sister with benefits. "That was one of the reasons why I hesitated taking this job." "I'm sure you two will figure something out. You're smart, you always do." "I hope you're right." "So are you ever going to tell me why you left in the first place?" "I'll tell you my long story when you tell me yours." "Deal"

With these last words the two captains finished their drinks and headed towards their respective barracks. Tsukiko had a lot to think about in preparation for the upcoming events the week would bring. She desperately hoped that the head captain would bring the good news of reinstating her specialty squad. It's too bad that there were more pressing issues on her mind. After a hundred years she questioned her feelings for Jushiro, if she had any. She had changed immensely within that time, both in personality and strength. She was already one of the strongest soul reapers she knew, there were few who could defeat her, but during her time in the World of the Living she trained and became even stronger. She also had plenty of time to think. It's true that she had loved Jushiro when she left, but as time went by she realized that there were other types of men more suited to her lifestyle. Men with more muscled who weren't so fragile. That's what she loved about him. The one man who had enough of her heart that when he rejected her, she shattered. She had carried this burden with her ever since, unable to fill the hole with anyone else, not even Jushiro. It finally became too much, trying to love Jushiro while he still had her heart, so she left. Being back in the Soul Society brought back so many memories. Tsukiko couldn't take these thoughts anymore and threw the glass vase on the table next to her across the room screaming so hard that tears were forced from her eyes. Feelings just make things too damn complicated!

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" she answered while swiftly trying to wipe away the tears. "It's Saya Izumi. I heard screaming and came to make sure you were alright." Tsukiko walked to the door, opening it. "Thank you, but I'm fine" she assured the girl with a fake smile. "You're lying. You're eyes are all red, like you've been crying. What's going on captain?" "It's nothing you don't need to worry about me. I just need some sleep." The captain received a suspicious look from the girl who finally surrendered and gave the woman a nod before walking away. Tsukiko couldn't help but wonder if this was only her first night as captain, how would she possibly live through the rest? With this thought the captain cleaned up the vase and got a drink of water before going to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I am so sorry for taking this long to update, there's been so much stuff going on lately! So I realize that I didn't put any physical descriptions of my characters in the last chapter, so I'll be throwing that stuff in this chapter. **

**A special thanks to the following readers for favoriting/following this story after only one short chapter: , Esvisionik, and c00kies'N'cream234. I know it's early in the story, but any feedback or story ideas are appreciated! After another chapter or so I may be interested in finding an editor, so let me know if you would be interested and I'll post more info soon!**

Tsukiko awoke the next morning around 5 am. Regardless of it only being her second day back as captain, she still felt the need to train. She dressed in her normal shihakusho which had the regular bottoms, but the top was cut so that her midriff was showing, and instead of sleeves it only had thin straps, both helped accentuate her well gifted chest. Another unique feature of her uniform was that she was the only soul reaper who could bear to wear heels as opposed to the standard sandals. She didn't feel the need to take her captain's haori as it would only get in the way, so it remained behind on the bed. As she walked to her favorite training spot just outside the barracks she noticed that there weren't many people up that early. The few that she did pass stopped and greeted their new captain.

She finally reached the small cave which had always been her preferred training grounds over those in the division barracks. She found that even before when she was a captain, her zanpakuto was too dangerous to train around weaker soul reapers. It was a relief though, as she hadn't been able to train to her greatest ability in the World of the Living. Tsukiko took her place before a series of stalactites which hung from the ceiling. She drew her zanpakuto and was about to attack when she heard a noise near the cave entrance, and witnessed a slight movement to match it. "Who's there?" the captain questioned as a smaller woman with long black hair and bright blue eyes. "Saya, what are you doing here?" "I could ask you the same question captain. I came out here to train with my zanpakuto." "Then perhaps you would like a sparring partner. Come on, I'll go easy on you." Saya had to think about it for a moment before she finally agreed.

"Ready?" taunted the captain who stood across from her subordinate. Saya drew her zanpakuto and nodded at her captain while taking a blade of her dual sword in each hand, their ends connected by a chain. Saya ran at her captain and Tsukiko blocked both of her blades with her single one. "You're strong, but you're going to have to do better than that if want to be a match for me." Saya only forced her blades harder upon her captain's when she called out, "Burn, Tsuin Honoo!" Both of Saya's blades erupted in flames, causing her captain to jump back. With her flaming blades connected, Saya threw one at her captain when she heard, "Lash out, Ketsueki Ojo!" Tsukiko's zanpakuto transformed in to a blood red whip made of steel and was sent to wrap around her subordinate's blade, stopping it in its tracks. "You're not half bad. Are you sure you're just a seventh seat?" Saya smirked and pulled back on her blade, causing her captain's stance to give. She took this opportunity to charge at her captain once more, only to be blocked once more by her retracting whip. "That's enough, Saya. If you would excuse me, I must go prepare for my day's duties." Saya had to admit, she was starting to see why there were so many rumors about this woman. She decided in this moment that she would follow this woman to the end.

The captain sheathed her weapon and returned to her quarters. She brushed through her waist length golden locks and returned them to the chopsticks that held them in place in a bun. She took one last look in the mirror to make sure she looked presentable before she grabbed her haori off the bed and headed towards the dining hall. There she received many of the same looks as did the night before. The captain simply shrugged them off and smiled at her new subordinates as she walked by. She took her place next to Izuru and decided on a light breakfast. After last night's thoughts had haunted her as she slept she decided that she should take today to talk with Jushiro and didn't know how much food she could keep down during that conversation. While picking through her food a hell butterfly appeared before her. It was from the head captain, stating that he could meet with her in an hour.

After replying to the message saying she would be there she got up and walked out the door with the intension of slowly making her way to the first division. These were her initial plans, however, they changed when she ran into a couple familiar faces from the previous night. "Good morning captain" they greeted with a bow. "Good morning. Mai and Emmiko wasn't it?" "Yes captain" replied a shy Emmiko in a quiet voice. Emmiko was a shorter woman with emerald green eyes and short dark brown hair. Mai it seemed was the complete opposite. She was fairly taller with fire red hair and onyx colored eyes to compliment it. "And what are you two up to on such a beautiful morning?" Just as Mai was about to answer Saya came running up to them. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late." "Ah Saya, and how are you feeling after this morning?" "I'm doing just fine captain, thank you." "That's good to hear. Most people don't leave without a few deep gashes." "Saya, what is Captain Takenouchi talking about?" Mai interrupted. "We had a small sparring match this morning. Saya did very well for someone of her level. I'd love to stay and talk, but I must be going as the head captain is expecting me soon. Take care." With that the captain left the girls in the hall with a smile, continuing on her way to the first division barracks.

Captain Takenouchi arrived at the division one barracks and headed for the head captain's office. Just as she was about to knock on the door it opened, the man behind it calling her inside. She entered the room to find the old man behind his desk. "Ah, Captain Takenouchi, please, have a seat" he greeted while offering her a chair in front of him. "Now Tsukiko, explain to me what exactly it is that you would like to do with your division." "Well sir, I was hoping to reinstate its old specialties, to make excellent captains for one, the other condition being to ensure that we women get proper and fair training by reverting it to an all female division." "You do realize that this is asking for quite a lot? If I agree to this there would be almost a whole division needing relocated, not to mention all the women who would wish to participate in this program. As for the captain training, I will allow you to continue it. Over your years of leading this program you have trained many great captains." "I understand sir, but I feel that my all female division benefitted many soul reapers before. A lot of the female soul reapers feel quite intimidated and overwhelmed by their male counterparts. The purpose of my division is to allow them to grow and hone their skills in a more comfortable environment. Previous results show that my subordinates were a great deal more powerful than those in other divisions." The head captain pondered this proposal for a moment. "I do not deny those results, Tsukiko. Only because I have the utmost respect for you will I allow this, though there is one condition." "And what might that be sir?" "Before I begin relocating officers you will hold a meeting with all female soul reapers under lieutenant rank and I want a list of all who wish to participate." "Yes sir." "You have one month to get this list to me. You are dismissed." With a respectful bow the third division captain took her leave.

Outside the door Tsukiko found her friend Captain Unohana waiting for her. "So how did it go?" "It went pretty great, actually. He's reinstating the captain program as well as my all female division, but only if enough interests are sparked." "That shouldn't be too hard. I've heard plenty of women discuss how unfair it is to have them compete with so many men. I myself have a few lower ranked officers who aren't quite cut out for healing, they might benefit from your leadership. I shall speak with them about it later." "Thanks Retsu, I really appreciate it. I just have to get through today first. I've been back in the Seireitei for almost a month and I still haven't figured out what to do about Jushiro. I think I still have feelings for him, but I've been gone so long. I'm not the same person I was." "Maybe if you simply talk things out you will be able to find some common ground to start a new relationship. You never know until you try." Captain Unohana reassured her friend with a comforting smile. "I guess you're right. So what's the deal with this new Kenpachi guy?" "Oh it's the same with him as it has been with all of the other males. He's constantly fighting, trying to find someone who can satisfy his blood thirst. You know how it is." "The feeling of not being able to hold back against your opponent, it's the rarest and intoxicating feeling in the world." The two captains exchanged a look that only the most bloodthirsty animals in the world would know before changing them to smiles while sating their goodbyes.

Tsukiko slowly walked towards the thirteenth division barracks in search of her previous lover. Thoughts of what she would say swam through her head until she ran into someone due to her distracted state. "Tsukiko, what are you doing here?" The addressed girl looked up to find that the person she had bumped into was indeed the man she came to find, Jushiro Ukitake. "Hello Jushiro. I actually came here to talk to you. Is there somewhere private we can go?" "We could go to my quarters, they're not far from here." "Could we maybe go somewhere else, what about your office?" "Just follow me." The white haired captain said with a soft smile. As always with the two captains there was a rather awkward silence on the way to their destination.

As they reached the office Jushiro took his seat while Tsukiko took one across from him. "So what was it you wanted to talk about Tsukiko?" "Well, it's about us. We've been separated for so long that I'm just not sure where we stand right now. Do we try to continue what we had, do we start over, or should we just break it off? Is there even anything still there? It's all so confusing right now and I can't focus on anything with all this going through my head on a loop." The blonde started to tear up when the man moved from his chair and brought her into an embrace. "My dear Tsukiko, I will always have love for you, even if you do not return it. I would like to have a relationship with you whether we continue the old one or start anew. It is your choice and I will not force you either way." "I want to continue what we had, but I've changed. I don't know how we could possibly go back to the way things were." "Then how about we just start fresh? It intrigues me to find out what has changed about you. Will you have dinner with me tomorrow?" "Dinner would be great." Tsukiko gave a slight smile before giving the man a kiss on the cheek and taking her leave.

The woman took her time returning to her barracks as she had a busy day and there was much to think about. They were going to start a fresh relationship, but would it be enough? Her thoughts wandered to the one she lost so long ago and her heart began to ache. What was so wrong with her that he would not accept her love? She could have had any man she wanted, and most would compare her love to winning the lottery, but the one she chose denied her. Today must not have been a good day for her attention span for as she was walking her shoulder hit that of someone else's. "Watch where you're going woman!" She looked over to find none other than Kenpachi Zaraki. "What's your problem?!" Tsukiko snapped at her colleague. "Well aren't you feisty. It's too bad you can't fight me, it might be fun." "And who says I can't?" "From the way you act I'd say you're definitely not strong enough to take me on." "It's not that I'm not strong enough, but more that I'm too strong for you." "There it is again, that big talk from a small body." "You want a fight? 9:00 AM tomorrow, grab Captain Unohana on your way to the division three barracks and we'll see who the big talk is coming from." "You got it doll" The two captains glared at each other for a moment before continuing on their separate ways.

'What a dumbass. It makes things interesting at least.' Tsukiko thought as she entered her room. It was far passed dinner time by now so she settled for a cup of the top shelf sake from her stash. That night sleep did not come easy, but no vases were broken.

*With Kenpachi*

"What a woman." Kenpachi said to himself as he lay in bed. He couldn't keep this woman out of his thoughts. It bothered him that she had this big of a mouth yet she would not fight him. Not only that, but the way she touched him yesterday, he could tell she was incredibly strong. It took an immense amount of control to be able to emit spiritual pressure out of only specific parts of the body. On top of her being strong, she had one of the most gorgeous bodies the man had ever laid eyes on. Between those two qualities he decided that he had to make her his. In his eyes, tomorrow would ultimately decide the fate of what might happen between them.

**Well that's chapter 2 and I hope you guys liked it! I apologize if the mini fight scene was awful, I'm not very good at them. I promise the Kenpachi one next chapter will be better! If you find yourself with any free time, I also make AMVs which can be found on my youtube page under the username itachismaingirl. So far they're all Naruto, but I'm working on a Kenpachi one that I will hopefully get back to soon. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3 is here! A HUGE thanks to my nerd buddy Austin who was a great help with the fight scene which I think turned out pretty well. Now that it's out of the way I'm super excited to continue writing and hopefully get new chapters out a lot sooner. **

**This chapter's special thanks go to mia406 for following and favoriting, and to mimi3992 for favoriting. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!**

Tsukiko woke early the next morning to prepare for her fight with Kenpachi. While she was eating her big breakfast she heard whispers from practically her whole squad about the upcoming match. She was deep in thought while chewing her food when someone approached her. "So what's with this big fight I've been hearing about?" questioned Saya from behind her. "Oh you know, just another power hungry bastard who thinks he can beat me just because I'm a girl." Saya sat in the lieutenant's vacant seat next to her captain. "Please, be careful. Captain Zaraki is said to be the most powerful captain other than the Head Captain." "There is one every generation, the strongest of all soul reapers, each one stronger than the last. This person is given the title of Kenpachi." "How do you know so much about this, captain?" "I'm a lot older than I look, Saya. I've lived through the reign of many named Kenpachi during my time in this world." "In that case, please be careful, Captain Takenouchi. I have faith in your victory. I see something in you that I haven't seen in any other soul reaper, not even Captain Zaraki." "Thank you, Saya. I hope I'll see you there. Oh, and you look good in that seat, it suits you." With a smile the captain walked out and was on her way to the battlefield.

As Tsukiko arrived she found her destination filled with many people from every division, eleventh, fourth, eighth, and of course her own third. Among the others present was Captain Unohana, as Tsukiko requested, her friend Captain Kyoraku, as well as a few other captains. She took her place across from the young Kenpachi and greeted him. "Well good morning Captain Zaraki. I must say, I'm rather impressed that you actually showed up." "If there's anyone I'm surprised to see, it's you, Captain Takenouchi." Zaraki replied. Tsukiko just glared at the arrogant captain before her. She could feel her body begin to tremble with an excitement that she hadn't felt since before she left the soul society. Tsukiko then continued to walk past the captain toward the end of the open training area. Once they were a good 50 ft apart she stopped and shook off her haori and handed it to Saya. "Good luck captain," Saya whispered. "I don't need luck when I have strength Saya." Tsukiko chuckled. "Is that cockiness I hear squad captain?" Zaraki's voice rang over the grounds. When she turned to look at him he looked as lax as ever with his nameless zanpakuto held on his shoulder. "It's not cockiness when it's the truth captain" she growled at him. "Then prove it" he shouted and charged at her.

At that moment all surrounding squad members crowded the walls and she took off. She met him in the middle as she was drawing her sword. With a loud clash they stopped in the middle, arms pushing and shaking from the force of their swords trying to gain the advantage. After a minute of this they disengaged and as soon as Zaraki landed he immediately took off for Tsukiko, aiming a slash at her shoulder. She flash stepped behind him and went to stab his shoulder, only for him to catch her sword in mid air. Everything stood still as her pulse raced. 'How is this possible? He can't be that strong, can he? Did I underestimate him?' All these questions ran through Tsukiko's head, and the next thing she knew, she was being thrown towards a wall. Regaining her composure she flipped in the air so that her feet hit the wall. Kicking straight off of it, she shot at Kenpachi like a rocket. He swung to knock her out of the air, but she twisted and kicked him in the face, her heel sending him backwards. Then a smell she was all too familiar with filled the air…blood.

As Zaraki stood up she could see her heel had gashed his head open and blood was flowing down his face in small rivers. Zaraki just laughed and as the blood reached his face licked it. "AHHHH FINALLY" he yelled "someone I can fight with!" She could see the bloodlust in his eyes and she had it too. She had waited for so long to be able to fight like this and she wasn't going to hold back. Once again they both shot at each other, but this time with so much force the ground started to give way Tsukiko's mind was focused on nothing but making her opponent in front of her bleed no matter what. The two captains seemed to dance and fly as their swords wove patterns that none had used in years. With Zaraki being physically bigger than Tsukiko he was beginning to push into her, his slashes gaining more power as she tried to needle her way through his defenses, parrying and stabbing with finesse to counter his broad sword strokes. After a few minutes of this she began to laugh. She could feel her spiritual pressure getting used to combat, as well as his own massive pressure that had begun to crush some of the subordinates around.

With a quick flick of her wrist she parried a slash and shouted, "Hado number 31 Shakkaho!" In an instant Zaraki was engulfed in flames and jumped backwards. "So it's gotten so hard that you've resorted to using tricks to get me away from you, huh?" Zaraki shrugged his captain's haori off as it continued to burn. "I guess you really weren't the best type to fight then. I'm bored then if you're already using kido." With that she watched him turn his back. She was going to make him pay for his arrogance. The ground beneath her shook as she felt her reiatsu building until she growled "Lash out, Ketsueki Ojo! You're not going anywhere you arrogant prick". Zaraki turned in enough time to see the whip headed towards him at full speed. He went to block it with his hand, but at the last second moved behind his zanpakuto as he heard the screeching of blade on blade. His eyes widened. She knew that he was surprised that her zanpakuto would have cut him in this form.

"You're full of surprises, Captain." Kenpachi laughed as he could feel her reiatsu building. "Now that you've decided to have fun I can have some of my own!" With a quick flick of his sword he tore his eye patch off. Instantly the air was thick with pressure and they both just smiled at one another, each with a bloodthirsty grin on their face. Tsukiko tightened her grip on her zanpakuto and swung it towards Zaraki, and then they both disappeared. For the next few minutes the clashes were so quick that the only way they were visible was the damage created by the shock wave. Chunks of ground and wall were being thrown everywhere and the training ground was beginning to get destroyed. Tsukiko knew that despite the fun she was having things would have to stop soon or the Seireitei would be at risk. When Tsukiko landed she lashed her whip at Kenpachi and it wrapped around his sword, thus begun a game of tug of war with Kenpachi.

"Are you ready to take a break already? I didn't realize that you were so low on stamina." He smirked, and once again Tsukiko called in a calm manor, "lash out". At that moment Kenpachi fell forward as the whip dissolved into a tendril of needles. As they flowed back to Tsukiko they remained in a whip like fashion. He was staring at her and as her zanpakuto flowed around her they covered her and she disappeared. "I'm just getting warmed up" she whispered in his ear as she appeared behind him, and as he began to swing his zanpakuto she caught it in her hand. She watched as his eyes widened with what looked like a fear he had probably never known. "Now it is time for me to show you how weak you really are Kenpachi! Bankai, Ketsueki Ojo Sousa No!" She called upon her Zanpakuto's greatest power as he disappeared. "I'm weak? You must be delirious woman! This is just getting exciting!" The words had barely left his mouth when he noticed all the lines around him and the tingling sensations in his sides. The man looked down to see her needles surrounded in spiritual pressure stuck in him all over, making him look like a pin cushion. He looked back up just in time to see her walking away just as the pain started to erupt in his body. As she walked away from him the training ground was silent and she could hear Captain Unohana order her squad to carry him to the fourth division barracks.

Later in the fourth division barracks Captain Unohana arrived to check up on her friend after tending to Captain Zaraki. Her injuries were nothing compared to the ones she inflicted on him, but she still had a few scratches. "So how's the egotistic bastard doing?" Tsukiko questioned the medic. "Captain Zaraki should make a full and speedy recovery. How are you feeling?" "I'm fine, just a few scratches," she replied in a distracted tone. "Tell me, what's on your mind Tsukiko?" "That man, he's different from most of the Kenpachi before him. He is one of the few who may actually deserve the title." "I understand what you're saying. In all my years here in the Soul Society I haven't seen a Kenpachi of his caliber since, well, since you." Tsukiko just sat in quiet for a moment, pondering her predecessor's words. "What bothers me though is that each Kenpachi is supposed to be stronger than the last. The line is easily at its tenth successor, so what are us ol d fools still doing alive?" The younger captain questioned. "The simple answer to this question would be that the new aren't stronger than the old. Other than that, I would say that the other soul reapers might be scared of us, or value us as weapons against our enemies." "Whatever the answer, all I know is that I haven't seen one this strong in quite a while. I want, no, I need to know more about him Retsu." "Well now, has the great Captain Tsukiko Takenouchi taken an interest in this man?" "I guess you could say that, though to what extent I could not say." "He should be awake by now, you're welcome to go talk with him. Just please be careful Tsukiko, I do not wish to see you get hurt again." Tsukiko nodded as her friend gave her a gentle hug before leaving the room.

After giving it some thought Tsukiko decided to act upon Unohana's advice and go visit the young captain. As she arrived at his room the door was open only a crack. She just stood there watching him for a moment, looking over his still body. He was without a shirt due to all the bandages wrapped around his abdomen. Even with the bandages she could see his well defined abs, which was unfortunately one of her biggest weaknesses in a man. Just as Tsukiko was about to enter the room for a closer look, the man stirred in his sleep. Her steps froze as she immediately turned and bolted back to her own division barracks.

*Kenpachi*

The man lay there in an unconscious state, thoughts of the woman who had just defeated him filling his head. How could anyone possibly take him down, let alone a woman? He had never seen the amount of power which she had possessed. He lay there pondering these questions when he was awoken by a familiar spiritual pressure. It belonged to her. His body stirred in the bed he currently occupied, trying to regain enough consciousness so that he could lay his eyes on this incredible woman. As soon as he regained his vision he looked in the direction of her radiant spiritual pressure, only to find there was no one there.


End file.
